Written Answers Wednesday 31 May 2006

Scottish Executive

Alcohol and Drug Misuse

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how much funding it has provided for the treatment of drug and alcohol addiction in (a) Scotland and (b) Dumfries and Galloway in each year since 2000-01.

Hugh Henry: The specific funding allocated for drug and alcohol treatment services in Scotland and Dumfries and Galloway since 2000-01 is detailed as follows.

  

 Year
 Scotland
 Dumfries and Galloway


 Drugs
 Alcohol
 Drugs
 Alcohol


 2000-01
£12,352,000
 -
£124,000
 -


 2001-02
£14,973,000
 -
£298,000
 -


 2002-03
£16,952,000
 -
£258,000
 -


 2003-04
£16,952,000
 -
£258,000
 -


 2004-05
£19,752,000
£3,000,000
£271,000
£108,000


 2005-06
£23,769,000
£9,900,000
£482,000
£359,000


 2006-07
£23,769,000
£9,900,000
£482,000
£359,000

Bankruptcy and Diligence etc. (Scotland) Bill

Ms Sandra White (Glasgow) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has conducted an economic assessment of extra burdens on local authorities that may arise should levels of homelessness increase as a result of the enactment of provisions in the Bankruptcy and Diligence etc. (Scotland) Bill which would allow a creditor to apply for a court order forcing a debtor to sell property if more than £1,500 is owed.

Allan Wilson: The Executive intends that the new diligence of land attachment in the Bankruptcy and Diligence etc. (Scotland) Bill will strike a fair balance between creditors and debtors.

  The Executive does not agree that land attachment will cause an increase in homelessness, and has not therefore carried out an economic assessment of the possible impact on local authorities.

  The Executive nonetheless notes the recommendation of the Enterprise and Culture Committee in their stage 1 report that the main dwellinghouse should be exempted. We will therefore consider carefully whether or not to make changes at stage 2 of the bill.

Central Heating Programme

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many houses in Dundee are now centrally-heated as a result of its central heating installation programme.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  In local authority and housing association sectors, 2,260 households in Dundee have received a central heating system through the programme.

  In the private sector the programme is administered by Eaga Partnership, which holds information by main postcode area. From September 2001 to end of April 2006, Eaga has installed 2,825 central heating systems in pensioner households in the DD postcode area.

Central Heating Programme

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many pensioner households in (a) Dumfries and Galloway and (b) Scotland have benefited from its free central heating programme since it was introduced in 2001.

Johann Lamont: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Information is held by main post code area. From September 2001 to end of April 2006, 1,842 pensioner households in the DG postcode area have benefited from the central heating programme.

  Across Scotland the programme has funded 47,000 central heating systems in pensioner households during the same period.

Charities

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are employed by the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) in Dundee; how many of these jobs have resulted from civil service dispersal, and how many new posts have been created as a result of locating OSCR in Dundee.

Johann Lamont: The Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) currently employs 36 staff, all of them based in Dundee. Two of these jobs resulted from civil service dispersal – the posts were previously based in the Scottish Charities Office within the Crown Office. Thirty-four new posts have been created with the establishment of OSCR.

Debt Management

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how it will increase the number of money advisers accredited to provide advice on the use of debt arrangement schemes.

Allan Wilson: The Debt Arrangement Scheme is being delivered in partnership with Money Advice Scotland and Citizens Advice Scotland, through Money Advice Training Resources Information and Consultancy Services (MATRICS).

  The Executive is therefore working with MATRICS to encourage individual money advisers to become approved for the purpose of applying for debt payment programmes on behalf of debtors.

  As part of that effort the Executive reviewed the scheme between December 2005 and February 2006. As a result of that review, the Executive announced on 24 May 2006 that the scheme would be amended to allow for a payment programme to include debt relief.

  This change has been welcomed by the money advice sector, and it is hoped that it will lead to an increase in the number of approved money advisers.

  Further changes to the scheme are still being considered, and may be introduced after consultation with MATRICS.

Environment

Mr Kenny MacAskill (Lothians) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has collated relating to loss of urban green space since 1999.

Johann Lamont: Information on urban green space is not held centrally.

Financial Inclusion

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what measures it is taking to ensure the financial inclusion of older people.

Johann Lamont: The Financial Inclusion Action Plan, published in January 2005, identified older people as one of the vulnerable groups which might require additional help, such as the provision of financial information in appropriate formats. We are working with other organisations, including those which work particularly with older people, to develop this support.

Financial Inclusion

Marlyn Glen (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what financial support it is providing this year to organisations offering financial literacy training.

Johann Lamont: In March 2005 we announced support for three separate financial education pilot projects totalling £1.4 million over two years, in partnership with Citizens Advice Scotland, Greater Easterhouse Money Advice Project and Young Scot. The aim of these projects was to allow individuals to increase their financial capability and make better informed decisions about which products best meet their needs.

  From April this year we have provided £10.6 million funding to the 11 local authorities with the greatest concentration of financial exclusion and income deprivation – this will be spread over two years. Authorities will be able to utilise part of this funding towards financial literacy training.

Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the number of reports of adverse drug reactions received via the Yellow Card Scheme in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board.

Lewis Macdonald: The regulation and safety of medicines are reserved and are the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). The MHRA and the Commission on Human Medicines run the UK’s spontaneous adverse drug reaction reporting scheme, the Yellow Card Scheme.

  The Scottish Executive does not hold information on the number of reports of suspected adverse drug reactions received via the Yellow Card Scheme.

  The MHRA publishes on its website anonymised aggregated reports of suspected adverse drug reactions broken down by drug and by reporter type. Data which provide a greater level of detail and which could potentially lead to the identification of individual reporters or patients require an application to the Independent Scientific Advisory Committee. Application forms can be found on their website www.mhra.gov.uk.

Health

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were admitted to hospital as a result adverse drug reactions in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board.

Lewis Macdonald: The Information requested is shown in the following table. The increase in the numbers of patients, over the period, with a diagnosis of adverse drug reactions may, in part, be explained by improvements in the recording of secondary diagnoses in recent years. Data prior to 1997 has not been included in the table because the different coding structure used to collect it does not allow for a direct comparison.

  Acute Hospital (Non-Obstetric, Non-Psychiatric) In-Patient and Day Case Discharges with any Diagnosis of Adverse Drug Reactions1, 2, 3, 4, 5: by NHS Board of Residence – Years Ending 31 March 1997 to 2005

  Year of Discharge

  

 NHS Board/Area of Residence
 1997
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 Argyll and Clyde
 296
 323
 478
 565
 537
 490
 592
 493
 517


 Ayrshire and Arran
 298
 310
 438
 503
 540
 617
 531
 462
 483


 Borders
 45
 48
 70
 83
 84
 101
 97
 88
 88


 Dumfries and Galloway
 206
 220
 206
 230
 235
 269
 314
 325
 293


 Fife
 316
 317
 343
 408
 439
 470
 448
 494
 608


 Forth Valley
 163
 167
 190
 206
 206
 155
 167
 184
 275


 Grampian
 491
 624
 598
 567
 582
 577
 613
 748
 669


 Greater Glasgow
 899
 989
 988
 971
 1075
 858
 813
 820
 828


 Highland
 117
 133
 126
 161
 127
 159
 124
 151
 240


 Lanarkshire
 276
 278
 359
 304
 344
 378
 331
 339
 367


 Lothian
 769
 880
 941
 900
 972
 859
 1,115
 1,247
 1,343


 Orkney 
 15
 16
 20
 8
 7
 13
 15
 19
 15


 Shetland 
 11
 17
 20
 16
 19
 24
 10
 29
 23


 Tayside
 212
 263
 262
 328
 352
 408
 402
 367
 364


 Western Isles
 9
 7
 42
 40
 42
 26
 28
 28
 43


 Scotland Residents Total
 4,123
 4,592
 5,081
 5,290
 5,561
 5,404
 5,600
 5,794
 6,156


 Outwith Scotland and not known
 44
 57
 42
 44
 34
 52
 53
 44
 54



  Notes:

  1. These statistics are derived from data collected on discharges from non-obstetric and non-psychiatric hospitals (SMR01) in Scotland

  2. Up to six diagnoses (one principal, five secondary) are recorded on SMR01 returns. All six diagnoses have been used to select adverse drug reactions. All codes were selected from the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Other Health Related Problems, tenth revision (ICD10):

  3. Adverse drug reactions can be the reason for admission to a hospital or can have occurred whilst in hospital as a result of medication.

  4. Please note it is not possible to distinguish between prescribed and non-prescribed drugs.

  5. A patient will be counted once in each year. Patients may be counted more than once across years.

Health

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many new drug treatment centres it plans to create.

Hugh Henry: The Executive does not set up drug treatment centres. It provides funding – currently £32 million per annum - to NHS boards for the treatment and rehabilitation of drug misusers. It is for them to determine the best use of this money.

Health

Euan Robson (Roxburgh and Berwickshire) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) adult intensive care beds, (b) adult high dependency care beds, (c) paediatric intensive care beds, (d) paediatric high dependency care beds, (e) neonatal intensive care cots and (f) neonatal high dependency care cots there were in the most recent year for which figures are available and what the average daily cost per bed was for each type of bed.

Mr Andy Kerr: The specific information requested is not held centrally. It is not possible to separately identify adult and paediatric intensive care/high dependency beds. Similarly, it is not possible to separate information held on neonatal cots into different care types i.e. intensive and high dependency care.

  However, Table 1 shows pertinent data that are held centrally.

  Table 1: NHS Scotland – Average Available Staffed Beds and Average Daily Cost per Bed; in Intensive Care Units, High Dependency Units and Neonatal Units; Year Ending 31 March 2005

  

 
 Average Available Staffed Beds
 Average Net Daily Cost per Bed


 Intensive Care Unit
 177
£1,206


 High Dependency Unit
 265
£499


 Neonatal Unit
 330
£364

Health

Mrs Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of the ruling by the European Commission that British citizens who travel elsewhere in the European Union for health treatment should be recompensed, the same ruling would apply to citizens who travel from Scotland to England.

Mr Andy Kerr: The recent European Court of Justice ruling indicates that reimbursement of a patient’s costs should follow arrangements already in force for treatment in the patient’s home country. Currently, patients required to travel within Scotland, or indeed to England, for treatment may receive reimbursement for the expenses incurred under one of two statutory patients’ travelling expenses schemes: a non-means tested Highlands and Islands scheme, for patients resident or working in the former Highlands and Islands development area, and a means-tested scheme for the rest of the country.

  Under the scheme regulations patients, and where considered medically necessary their escorts, are reimbursed, either fully or partially, their travelling expenses. In addition the cost of unavoidable overnight expenses can be reimbursed if the NHS board is satisfied that an overnight stay is in practice unavoidable.

  NHS boards also have discretion to reimburse the travel costs and unavoidable overnight expenses of patients not eligible for assistance under the statutory travel schemes when this is viewed as an extension to patients’ treatment costs and is deemed to be clinically necessary.

Health

Ms Maureen Watt (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how it ensures that the Patients’ Forum reflects the diversity of the population and what outcomes have resulted from views expressed through the forum.

Mr Andy Kerr: Each community health partnership (CHP) is required to maintain an effective and formal dialogue with its local community through the development of a local Public Partnership Forum. Guidance on the establishment of Public Partnership Forum can be found at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/11/20168/45831#6 .

  The duty placed on health boards to involve and consult the public applies equally to CHPs, and national guidance on public involvement should underpin their work. A key role for the Public Partnership Forum is therefore to engage local service users, carers, the public and key local partners, such as the voluntary sector, in discussion about how to improve health services. This means engaging with local people in issues concerning the nature, design and quality of service delivery and outcomes. This in turn should enable the CHP to respond positively to the needs, concerns, and experiences of patients and their carers and families, while informing the development of its work plans and decisions about local priorities for service improvement. It is therefore important that the Public Partnership Forum is able to represent the views of all the communities in the CHP area, in particular those who could be socially excluded or face discrimination when accessing services.

  The Scottish Health Council has a key quality assurance role in terms of whether or not health boards are effectively carrying out their statutory duty to involve the public, both through the work of Public Partnership Forum and other involvement activities carried out locally. Where the council believes that a CHP is not effectively engaging with its local community through its Public Partnership Forum, then it may ask the health board to ensure appropriate remedial action is taken.

Homelessness

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what funding has been made available to Dundee City Council specifically to deal with homeless people in each year since 1999.

Malcolm Chisholm: The following table shows figures for funding made available to Dundee City Council since 1999-2000, to deal with issues of homelessness, broken down into the different funding lines.

  

 2006-07


 Rough Sleepers Initiative in Grant Aided Expenditure (unhypothecated)
 262,000


 Homelessness Task Force
 498,867


 GAE (unhypothecated)
 111,000


 2005-06


 RSI in GAE (unhypothecated)
 260,000


 Homelessness Task Force
 486,700


 GAE (unhypothecated)
 93,000


 2004-05


 RSI in GAE (unhypothecated)
 251,000


 Homelessness Task Force
 486,700


 GAE (unhypothecated)
 90,000


 2003-04


 RSI in GAE (unhypothecated)
 240,000


 Homelessness Task Force
 200,000


 Housing Act
 270,000


 GAE (unhypothecated)
 110,000


 2002-03


 RSI in GAE (unhypothecated)
 240,000


 Homelessness Task Force
 73,000


 Housing Act
 287,000


 GAE (unhypothecated)
 105,000


 2001-02


 RSI in GAE (unhypothecated)
 203,366


 Housing Act
 88,900


 GAE (unhypothecated)
 99,000



  

 2000-01


 RSI 
 241,459


 Temporary accommodation grant
 40,000


 GAE (unhypothecated)
 97,000


 1999-2000


 RSI
 602,625


 GAE (unhypothecated)
 100,000

Homelessness

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there is any link between the number of homeless people in a given local authority area and the amount of money that the Executive makes available to address homelessness in that area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Rough Sleepers Initiative funding was originally distributed on the basis of bids made by local authorities. This funding has been included in the Revenue Support Grant since 2002-03, and the proportion of funding allocated to each local authority has continued to be calculated on the same basis.

  The distribution of both Homelessness Task Force and general homelessness (GAE) funding is based on an historic calculation of the numbers of homelessness applications as a proportion of the population, in each local authority.

  The Rough Sleepers Initiative was integrated into the local authorities’ strategies and both funding streams now support the implementation of these.

  The Executive has made a commitment to amalgamate currently distinct homelessness funding streams from 2007-08. Consideration is currently taking place around the most appropriate arrangements for doing so.

Homelessness

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the levels of homelessness were in each parliamentary constituency in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive collects details on each application made to local authorities under the homelessness legislation. However, these data are not collected in a way which allows a meaningful breakdown by parliamentary constituency. Annual figures on the numbers assessed as homeless can be found online in the publications section of the housing statistics website www.scotland.gov.uk/stats/housing/hsbref . The most recent figures are for 2004-05 (published in Statistical Bulletin: Housing Series: HSG/2005/6: Operation of the Homeless Persons legislation in Scotland: national and local authority analyses 2004-05). Figures for 2005-06 will be published later this year.

Housing

Dr Elaine Murray (Dumfries) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive Scottish Executive what additional funding has been made available to Dumfries and Galloway Council through end-year flexibility for private sector housing grants in each year since 2000-01.

Malcolm Chisholm: I have asked Angiolina Foster, Chief Executive of Communities Scotland, to respond. Her response is as follows:

  Private Sector Housing Grant has only been available as direct grant since 2004 and has achieved full spend in the last two years.

  Dumfries and Galloway’s baseline allocations were £0.652 million for 2004-05 and £0.652 for 2005-06. These were based on their average expenditure on this programme from 2001.

  These allocations were increased during the course of these two years as follows (£ million):

  

 Year
 Baseline
 Additional Funding for Specific Bids
 Additional Funding for Disabled Adaptations
 Additional Funding for Care and Repair
 Total


 2004-05
 0.652
 2.478
 0.000
 0.125
 3.255


 2005-06
 0.652
 2.478
 0.300
 0.125
 3.555



  None of this was from end-year flexibility but from ministerial approval to increase spend in what they regard as a priority programme. This was done for all councils.

Ministerial Correspondence

Alex Neil (Central Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the Deputy First Minister will reply to my letters of 26 January 2006 and 16 March 2006 regarding the Business Academy.

Nicol Stephen: A reply to your letter of 26 January was sent out on 25 May.

NHS Staff

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide the names and places of residence of the members of the NHS appeals panel that considered the case for the Kinloch Rannoch Medical Practice to opt out of providing 24-hour medical cover.

Mr Andy Kerr: The NHS board applies to an assessment panel under the terms of the NHS (General Medical Services Contracts) (Scotland) Regulations 2004.

  Information on the members of assessment panels is not held centrally.

Planning

Murray Tosh (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the decisions on 4 May 2006 by the Court of Justice of the European Communities in respect of cases C-290/03 and C-508/03, published on 10 May 2006, have implications for the law on environmental impact assessment in Scotland and whether it will amend the law in this regard through the Planning etc. (Scotland) Bill.

Johann Lamont: The Executive is currently considering those decisions and any implications they might have for legislation, whether primary or secondary, or for planning guidance. We will make any amendments as necessary at the appropriate available opportunity.

Planning

Mr Bruce McFee (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what plans it has to change the criteria applied by the Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters Unit in order to take the weight of public opinion into account in planning matters.

Johann Lamont: We have no plans to change the criteria by which the Scottish Executive Inquiry Reporters Unit (SEIRU) are required to take into account public opinion in planning matters. Paragraph 46 of Scottish Planning Policy 1: The Planning System (Bib. number 25316) sets out the requirement by which planning applications are required to be determined. SEIRU are already required to give the same weight to relevant planning matters raised in representations by the public as by planning authorities. The weight to be attached to these representations would depend on the extent to which relevant planning considerations are raised, rather than the numbers of objections.

Planning

Murray Tosh (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what weighting it expects planning authorities to give to Scottish Planning Policies (SPPs) and Planning Advice Notes (PANs) in assessing planning applications in the period between the issuing of the policy or advice and the subsequent finalisation of updated structure and local plans, in circumstances where the Executive has changed the substance or the emphasis of policy in its newly issued SPPs and PANs and where the change in the substance or emphasis of policy is not considered by planning authorities to be so significant as to require formal alteration of plans currently in force.

Johann Lamont: Decisions on planning applications are required to be made in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Depending on the circumstances of the case, such considerations can include Scottish Planning Policies (SPP) and Planning Advice Notes (PAN). It would be for the body determining the application to consider the weight to be given to a new SPP or PAN which was relevant to the case but not yet included in the development plan.

Post Office

John Swinburne (Central Scotland) (SSCUP): To ask the Scottish Executive what assessment it has made of the impact on communities and, in particular, the town centre of East Kilbride of the closure of the Princes Mall post office branch in East Kilbride shopping centre and what information it has on how long it will be closed.

Johann Lamont: Royal Mail, Post Offices and postal issues are reserved to the Department of Trade and Industry. The Scottish Executive is unable to comment on particular Post Office closures. This is a matter for Post Office Ltd, in the first instance.

Property

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacant commercial and industrial properties there were at the end of financial year 2005-06, broken down by local authority area.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally.

Rail Services

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many rail vehicles are leased from (a) Angel Trains, (b) Porterbrook and (c) HSBC Rail and by whom they are leased.

Tavish Scott: With respect to the ScotRail Franchise the following vehicles are leased from the Rolling Stock Leasing companies;

  (a) Angel Trains – 144 vehicles.

  (b) Porterbrook – 283 vehicles.

  (c) HSBC Rail – 291 vehicles.

  All vehicles are subject to a leasing agreement between First ScotRail and the Rolling Stock Leasing Company.

Rail Services

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the costs were of installing the automatic ticket barriers at railway stations in Edinburgh and Glasgow and who met the installation costs.

Tavish Scott: The automatic ticket gates at Edinburgh Waverley, Haymarket and Glasgow Queen Street are being leased by First ScotRail. The lease costs are in the order of £0.5 million per annum over 10 years which includes installation and operational costs. The increase in fares revenue collected as a result of these gates is significantly in excess of these costs and has resulted in a substantial reduction in the franchise payment to First ScotRail.

Rail Services

Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what proportion of the excess revenue collected from rail ticket fares is (a) retained by the operator and (b) passed on to the Executive.

Tavish Scott: The annual level of target revenue in the franchise agreement was determined as part of the franchise bidding process. This target revenue level is commercially confidential.

  Revenue collected in excess of the target revenue is split between the operator and the Scottish ministers on the following basis:

  

 Target Revenue Exceeded By:
 % Retained by Operator
 % Retained by Scottish Ministers


 More than 2%
 50%
 50%


 More than 6%
 20%
 80%



  This information has been published by the Executive in the Public Register for the ScotRail franchise agreement and is available in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre.

Voluntary Organisations

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many registered voluntary organisations have closed down in each year since 1999.

Johann Lamont: Voluntary organisations have not been required to register with any regulatory body. Consequently, this information is not collected centrally.

  However, following the creation of the Office of the Scottish Charities Regulator (OSCR), voluntary organisations seeking charitable status in Scotland are required to meet the new charity test set out in the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, in order to be awarded charitable status and be placed on the Scottish Charity Register.

  Charitable status was previously granted by the Inland Revenue (Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs) under the Charities Act 1993. Under section 3 (7) (b) trustees of charities were required to notify the commissioners (Charity Commission) if their charities were winding up and this information can be obtained from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

Water Services

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide a timeline for its consultation on the introduction of general non-household metering and banded drainage charges in 2010 and what organisations it intends to consult.

Rhona Brankin: The Executive plans to consult later this year on the detail of its proposals for revising the basis on which non-household customers pay for their water services. It intends to consult groups and organisations which represent those likely to be affected by the proposals.

Water Services

Mr Andrew Welsh (Angus) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will confirm that the statement made by the Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development in the debate on Village and Community Halls on 1 February 2006 that it is "Scottish ministers’ policy that all customers should contribute to the costs of the water and waste water services that they receive" ( Official Report c. 22956) also applies to charitable organisations, and other organisations which serve a public function.

Rhona Brankin: The Executive’s general policy is that all customers, including charitable organisations and other organisations which serve a public function, should contribute to the cost of the water services that they use. Certain organisations, including some charitable organisations and other organisations which serve a public function are exempted from charges under the Water and Sewerage Charges (Exemption) (Scotland) Regulations 2002. These exemptions will continue until 31 March 2010.

Water Supply

Alasdair Morgan (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the estimated absolute and percentage loss of water has been from each reservoir and its associated water delivery system owned by Scottish Water in each of the last three years.

Rhona Brankin: This is an operational matter for Scottish Water. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to you with his response.

Water Supply

Mr John Swinney (North Tayside) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many private water supplies there are in Scotland.

Rhona Brankin: The Executive estimates that there are approximately 21,000 private water supplies in Scotland.